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Lot 37 |PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED AMERICAN PRIVATE COLLECTION
Richard Prince (b. 1949)
After Darker
Closed23 September 2014
Price Realised
USD 125,000
More Information
Richard Prince (b. 1949)
After Darker
signed, inscribed, dated and numbered 'Prince 5/5 2010' (lower right shelf)
bookshelf containing artist's custom-made After Dark books
51½ x 39¼ x 6 in. (130.8 x 99.7 x 15.2 cm.)
Executed in 2010. This work is number five from an edition of five.
After Darker
signed, inscribed, dated and numbered 'Prince 5/5 2010' (lower right shelf)
bookshelf containing artist's custom-made After Dark books
51½ x 39¼ x 6 in. (130.8 x 99.7 x 15.2 cm.)
Executed in 2010. This work is number five from an edition of five.
Richard Prince (b. 1949)
After Darker
signed, inscribed, dated and numbered 'Prince 5/5 2010' (lower right shelf)
bookshelf containing artist's custom-made After Dark books
51½ x 39¼ x 6 in. (130.8 x 99.7 x 15.2 cm.)
Executed in 2010. This work is number five from an edition of five.
After Darker
signed, inscribed, dated and numbered 'Prince 5/5 2010' (lower right shelf)
bookshelf containing artist's custom-made After Dark books
51½ x 39¼ x 6 in. (130.8 x 99.7 x 15.2 cm.)
Executed in 2010. This work is number five from an edition of five.
Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner
After relocating to Trinidad from London in 2005, Chris Ofili optimistically predicted that great art emerges when cultures cross boundaries. At that point in his career, both the artist and his work were going through a period of change, and Ofili's migration was motivated by his belief that his artistic and personal development would be stifled in a familiar venue.
Whereas Ofili's previous works used additions of resin and glitter to create a glistening effect, in Trinidad he found a highly effective new approach. Moved by the island’s beauty, the artist was inspired to accentuate color alone. Saint Lucian Blue is a one of an acclaimed series of blue paintings in which he emphasizes the soft contrasts among variations of midnight hues. Traces of his earlier abstract work still appear here, for example a male figure is the clear focus of this composition, but while the silhouette is easily recognizable, close examination is required to distinguish the subtleties of the artist’s use of both color and pattern.
Ofili fuses light into his creations without the additions of excess material. Here, light enters the work with a heavy presence associated with night as the artist made a conscious decision to break his monochrome palate by incorporating fields of silver. Ofilli felt that the twilight and night time on the island “wake up the senses” and enhance the imagination, and incorporated that perception into the series (C. Ofili, quoted by J. Nesbit, Chris Ofili, exh. cat. Tate Britain, London, 2010, p. 103).
The artist also left a lurking sense of mystery in Saint Lucian Blue, an element often connected with his work. He established an alternate universe of relative darkness, excluding any suggestions of place. The inability to deduce any sort of narrative is also a new quality in Ofili’s work that only enhances its impact.
Whereas Ofili's previous works used additions of resin and glitter to create a glistening effect, in Trinidad he found a highly effective new approach. Moved by the island’s beauty, the artist was inspired to accentuate color alone. Saint Lucian Blue is a one of an acclaimed series of blue paintings in which he emphasizes the soft contrasts among variations of midnight hues. Traces of his earlier abstract work still appear here, for example a male figure is the clear focus of this composition, but while the silhouette is easily recognizable, close examination is required to distinguish the subtleties of the artist’s use of both color and pattern.
Ofili fuses light into his creations without the additions of excess material. Here, light enters the work with a heavy presence associated with night as the artist made a conscious decision to break his monochrome palate by incorporating fields of silver. Ofilli felt that the twilight and night time on the island “wake up the senses” and enhance the imagination, and incorporated that perception into the series (C. Ofili, quoted by J. Nesbit, Chris Ofili, exh. cat. Tate Britain, London, 2010, p. 103).
The artist also left a lurking sense of mystery in Saint Lucian Blue, an element often connected with his work. He established an alternate universe of relative darkness, excluding any suggestions of place. The inability to deduce any sort of narrative is also a new quality in Ofili’s work that only enhances its impact.